The Bullying Antidote

The Bullying Antidote: Superpower Your Kids for Life

Help your children develop the communication skills, self-respect, and self-esteem needed to be confident and resilient in the face of bullying.

As parents, we want our children to succeed—not just academically, but personally. We hope they will make friends and feel secure in themselves and their environment when they are on the playground or in the classroom. The reality is, though, that bullying has reached epidemic proportions in our nation’s schools and communities. When it isn’t addressed, it contributes to higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide among youth.
Many kids simply do not feel safe—and their teachers and parents often have no idea what’s going on. Some parents who know that their children are having difficulty do not know what to do: Are these kids just being kids? Should I tell someone?

In this critical, life-saving book, Hart and Caven give parents the skills they need to prevent their children—whether 6 or 16—from being bullied. The antidote is to equip moms and dads with the tools to raise confident and resilient kids through positive parenting. They provide tips and a course of action for:

boosting self-respect, self-care, and self-esteem in your children;

teaching your kids how to communicate effectively and assertively;

devising an action plan with your children in the event they are bullied; creating a family culture where bullying behavior is not accepted.

More than anyone else, parents have the power to shape the lives of their children. More than anyone else caring adults can promote positive, pro-social behaviors and relationships during a child’s formative years. Using their authority, they can establish acceptable standards of behavior. They can also prevent and curb anti-social behaviors, and re-channel the energy into positive directions.

Written in an accessible and guilt-free style, The Bullying Antidote synthesizes the best research, practices, and wisdom to bring out the best in parents and children alike. Written with Louise’s daughter, Kristen Caven, it helps parents improve their knowledge, emotional well-being, and confidence.

Reviews

“This wise and very caring book is about much more than bullying. It underscores that there is nothing more important than our raising and teaching children to grow up in healthy, caring and responsible ways. The authors detail a series of very practical and thoughtful suggestions about how we can be even better parents and teachers. I highly recommend it!”

—Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., President, National School Climate Center: Educating Minds and Hearts Because the Three Rs are Not Enough; Adjunct Professor in Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

“The Bullying Antidote covers everything that’s been important in our discoveries in child development in the last ten years. The authors have done a thorough synthesis of the current research on how to raise healthy children in today’s world, including information on brain science, emotional intelligence, relationships and communication skills.

“I highly recommend this book for everyone invested in putting a stop to the bullying epidemic. My vision is for all parents, school boards, and policy makers to read, discuss, and implement the tenants of this comprehensive and vitally important and well-written book. This book has my 100% endorsement.”

“The Bullying Antidote exposes the often unspoken truth: Bullies aren’t born bullies; their behavior has a valid cause that can be prevented and reversed. Hart and Caven give clear insight into ways to prevent what leads to bullying as well as how to respond in ways that heal and connect.”

— Naomi Aldort, author of Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves

“We will never be able to make bullying go away entirely, but we can equip our kids with a ‘superpower’ that enables them to restore their ‘health, happiness, and balance’ in the face of bullying. The authors present both an ‘outside-in’ approach, whereby the adults in kids’ lives are ‘enforcing rules and laws, and holding kids accountable in order to change behavior,’ as well as an ‘inside-out’ approach, whereby adults help ‘children develop attitudes, values, and skills that empower them to have respectful relationships based on rights and responsibility.’ This comprehensive parenting strategy helps parents raise children who can resist bullying, as well as prevent them from becoming bullies themselves.”

—Susan Heim, parenting author and editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul

“Get this book! The Bullying Antidote is THE definitive resource for all aspects of bullying – psychological, sociological, behavioral, etc… It is so comprehensive, you can sweep all your other self-help books off the shelf and replace them with this.” — Kristin L. Roush, Ph.D., Life Coach, Psychology Professor Central New Mexico Community College“Full of great wisdom and advice, this book outlines the causes and gives many excellent ways to prevent and cure bullying problems. Among the causes of bullying are abusive behavior among family members, substance abuse, violent TV and video games and more. This is a very important book for our generation of youngsters and their parents.” — Bonnie Neely, Amazon Reviewer

“This book is the answer for parents who ‘wonder what to do’ when it comes to dealing with bullies! Thanks for a major contribution to the conversation about how to have a more civil society!”

“Louise Hart and Kristen Caven have tackled bullying head on, armed with cutting edge research and neuroscience. This well-written, understandable, and comprehensive book gives readers the information, insight, and specific tools they need to begin creating a better environment for all our children.”